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Charlie Daniels: Guitar Hero 'perverted' my song
While a lot of people here may have spent hours rawking out and pulling buffoonish poses to Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, it's safe to say that country rock musician Charlie Daniels wasn't quite as enthusiastic. Firstly, the guy is 71, and if performing high kicks and the splits is beyond us flexible twenty-somethings, it's probably going to be unrealistic for anyone who qualifies for a free bus pass. Secondly (and a lot more relevantly), he's not too chuffed about how one of his songs, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," has been presented by Legends of Rock.According to an entry by the musician on his blog, the song in question is "a lighthearted novelty about a fiddling contest between a country boy and the devil and the devil always loses," but try telling that to Guitar Hero III. Instead, the game has players competing on the song with old Beelzebub himself, in a face-off which the devil can win. Insert outraged gasps here!Anyway, this is the main sticking point for Daniels, who accuses developer Neversoft of "perverting my song," and huffs that he's "disgusted with the result." He also describes the game as having "a dark side, complete with grotesque monsters on stage with the band, strange, eerie lighting effects and all manner of weird things popping up on the stage," and reckons it's "not the healthiest thing in the world for young, impressionable minds to be exposed to."As it happens, Daniels' complaints look set to fall on deaf ears, because he sold off the publishing rights to the track. Nevertheless, his diatribe is worth a read, if only for a chuckle.[Via Kotaku]
Guitar Hero: Poll star
You've heard our arguments for and against Guitar Hero: On Tour's viability as a worthy portable successor to the series' console games -- now we want to hear what your expectations for the game are!%Poll-12304% placeholdertext More Like Guitar Zero Back
X3F TV -- Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack video tour
Giving gamers four more reasons to go online with Xbox Live's most popular shooter, Infinity Ward has released the first downloadable content for their 2007 smash-hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For 800 MS points the map pack adds familiar environments from the single-player experience as well as a modernized revision of a classic Call of Duty 2 map.Jump in for a brief description of the four maps included in the Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4 and find out if the maps are worth your hard-earned MS Points.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[MP4] Download the MP4 Directly.
Point: Why Guitar Hero: On Tour could rock out
Guitar Hero: On Tour is a weird product. The guitar controller, which would seem to be Guitar Hero's greatest strength, is pretty much absent from the DS game, replaced with a vestigial controller that retains the basic gameplay motion but removes the rock-star fantasy. For some, the loss of the guitar shape may remove the primary source of fun from the game (lookin' like C.C. DeVille); for me, it enhances the fun. Is it possible for a music game to be fun without simulating an instrument? Historically, yes. Guitar Hero may have roots in the instrument-based Guitar Freaks and other Bemani-series games, all of which use specialized controllers, but its immediate predecessors were Harmonix's Frequency and Amplitude for the Playstation 2. These two games featured the same visualization method and gameplay as Guitar Hero -- notes as icons, moving toward the screen Klax-style -- but used the PlayStation 2's stock controller. These two games were, in fact, more complex than Guitar Hero, requiring players to move between musical tracks. The Guitar Hero controller doesn't allow for this feature (and, of course, there'd be no reason to move over to the drum or vocal track with a guitar controller), so, in a way, the guitar controller hampered the game design.PaRappa the Rapper used the PlayStation controller to control the main character's speech. That's about as far from representative as a controller could be, and PaRappa was well-received enough for the genre to advance. Now, just because NaNaOn-Sha, Harmonix, and other companies could make great music games without representative controllers doesn't mean that Vicarious Visions can, or will -- but it does mean that we shouldn't summarily dismiss Guitar Hero: On Tour for not having a sufficiently guitar-like controller.From the looks of it, the Guitar Grip peripheral will provide a mechanically similar gameplay experience to the full-size controller anyway. With the exception of the fifth fret button, of course, the base game of holding one or more of a line of buttons and strumming on time is unchanged. So it's still Guitar Hero -- it just doesn't look like it. This should really only dissuade people who play Guitar Hero in order to pretend like they're playing guitars. People who like Guitar Hero as a game will only benefit from a smaller version.Portability is especially novel for something like Guitar Hero, whose normal controller is freaking huge. Sometimes you don't have space for a bunch of big controllers! You may be dissuaded from bringing your Guitar Hero setup to your small dorm room, for example, while you could easily play On Tour in the back of a Volkswagen. The added value of portability, with a smaller price tag? Rokken. placeholdertext Back A different tune
Point/Counterpoint: Guitar Hero: On Tour
Welcome to Point/Counterpoint, in which two DS Fanboy bloggers get into a verbal slap-fight over a divisive topic in the field of DS gaming. Few DS-related topics are more divisive right now than Guitar Hero: On Tour. Activision and Vicarious Visions have tried to cram the experience of one of the best-known party games onto the DS by grafting a big ... thing onto the side of the system. We can all agree that the Guitar Grip doesn't look anything like a guitar, but is it sufficient for Guitar Hero? Is there any chance that this game could shred, or is it going to be all guitar face and no totally sweet solos? On Tour could strike a power-chord %Gallery-19362%
Promotional Consideration: Commercial of Duty
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.Though Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold exceptionally well in North America, topping the software charts for its PC and console releases, Activision is smart enough to know that marketing the title in Japan, where the DS is king and first-person shooter sales is an oxymoron, requires a different strategy. The result? Activision actually produced a 30-second spot specifically for the DS version of the multiplatform game ...
Reminder: Win the Call of Duty 4 'Variety Map Pack'
If you've made it this deep into the weekend without purchasing the new Call of Duty 4 "Variety Map Pack," why not hold out a little longer? Leave a comment naming your favorite multiplayer map EVAR on our giveaway post for your chance to win the map pack -- for free! You've got until 1200 hours tomorrow, soldier. %Gallery-19521%
Joyswag: Win the Call of Duty 4 'Variety Map Pack'
[Update: Entry period is over, folks. We're selecting our winners and contacting them by email, so go check!]What a lovely ravine ... to die in. Take the tour (of duty) on us! Joystiq is giving away five download codes for the brand-new Call of Duty 4 "Variety Map Pack" on Xbox 360 (valued at 800 Microsoft Points / $10). Just follow these 5 simple rules for your chance to win: To enter this giveaway, leave a comment naming your favorite multiplayer map of all time (any game) You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person per day. If you enter this giveaway more than once each calendar day you'll be automatically disqualified and forced to, well, pay for the map pack! This entry period ends at 12:00pm ET on Monday, April 7th. We'll randomly select 5 winners at that time (please check your email!) For complete rules, click here Psst, hey, one more thing: GameDaily is offering up five additional codes, right here.
Les Paul costs less money
Those of you in the market for another guitar for Guitar Hero III will be happy to know that RedOctane has dropped the cost of the wireless Les Paul guitar. Originally fetching a price of $69.99, it is now $10 cheaper.Have you been holding off on picking up an extra guitar until the price dropped? Have you been waiting to get one but just can't find one? Want a free one? Or do you go from hotel to hotel enjoying the Guitar Hero III they have to offer?[Thanks, Eric!]
Call of Duty 4 map pack going live in 30 minutes
Infinity Ward spokesman "fourzerotwo" (or Robert Bowling, to his parents) has announced that the new Call of Duty 4 map pack will arrive at 6:30 PST, or 9:30 EST or, to put it in terms we can all appreciate: In 30 minutes. So watch a video or flip through the gallery, do whatever you have to do to prepare yourself. What's that sound like blood pumping out of your ears? That's you getting totally, absolutely pumped. ... Oh, also, there's blood pumping out of your ears. We should probably get you to a doctor. Think we can be back in a half hour? Come to think of it, can you drive yourself?Once the maps drop (and you part with 800 points/$10) try to pull yourself away for a few minutes to come back and share your thoughts. [Thanks, Lucas] Gallery: Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat DLC
Def Leppard in Guitar Hero IV confirmed
We're sorry to doubt the messengers of Rock Gods, but we finally got our own confirmation that Def Leppard has indeed contributed three songs to Guitar Hero IV. While not replaying the full interview, Rockline Radio's website did provide a stream of the bandmates talking specifically about the game. "We're gonna have like three songs on Guitar Hero IV," said guitarist Phil Collen, before specifying "Photograph," "Animal" and "Rock of Ages." We've gone ahead and embedded the music videos after the break for those who want to rock out in this post.
Video: COD4 Variety Map Pack montage
With the Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack seemingly only moments away, we thought it prudent to post this video montage of the new maps from GameTrailers. Strangely absent from the footage is Chinatown and Killhouse, which represent the two biggest departures from the maps already available with Call of Duty 4. We still get plenty of footage from Broadcast and Creek, though. We particularly like the look of Broadcast, which looks like a big violent mess (in a good way). Enjoy the video, and remember that all this fun can be yours in time for the weekend (at the cost of 800 MS Points anyway).
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is really real
Snooping through the Australian OFLC's video game ratings website, a new and totally unannounced video game full of geometry has been discovered, resulting in us being uber excited. The OFLC just published a listing for Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 today, which is super great news, except for the fact it doesn't look to be a 360 exclusive. According to the listing, the game is being published by Activision (and being authored by them as well) rather then Bizarre Creations and is categorized to be "multi-platform". That's about all the info we can pull from this ratings post and it's great to hear that we'll be treated to a true sequel (Geometry Wars: Waves doesn't count), even though we have to share with non-360 gamers. Bring on the geometry! [Via Game Stooge]
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 rated by OFLC
Geometry Wars: Waves and Galaxies have been interesting takes on the GW formula, but we all know in our hearts that they're not the true successors to the original XBLA classic. Now, it seems we may finally be getting just that after a rating was released by the OFLC (the Australian classification board) for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. Sadly, that's pretty much all we know, save for the fact the game will be multi-platform. Not much of a surprise, considering it's coming from the company that's currently trying to figure out how to make Guitar Hero compatible with pacemakers. [Via Xblah]
Guitar Hero III squeezes out version for BlackBerry
Poor Bessy, the Guitar Hero cow is getting her teats squeezed raw by Activision. Hands-On Mobile announced another addition to the GH III oeuvre as the "number one selling" mobile version of Guitar Hero III became available for BlackBerry smartphones. Come on Bessy, just keep squirting.According to Hands-On the mobile version of Guitar Hero III has achieved 7.5 million song downloads in less than six months and will be available on the nation's top four mobile carriers by April. Oh well, more power to 'em. Observing someone play GH III on a phone can't possibly be more awkward than it'll be watching someone play the DS version of GH III on the subway in the morning.
Blizzard wins the prank wars
Well, what else would you expect from the company that brought you murlocs? April Fool's day is in full effect in Blizzardlandia, and World of Warcraft isn't the only game to get the treatment, but it's a good place to start!Molten Core: for consolesHeavily trading on fond gamer memories of Atari's Adventure, Blizzard brings us the console version of its popular 40-player raid dungeon Molten Core. The game's site features screenshots alongside concept art, and a trailer, even, with an 8-bit, pixelated version of the company's logo. We won't spoil the show for you, but the best bullet point for the game has to be 'Has sound'. Check it out and wait for your chance to pre-order!
Call of Duty 4 map pack delayed a week, now hitting XBL April 10
The Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack will not hit this week like planned. Instead, that April 3 or 4 date has been pushed back to April 10, according to the official Game of the Year Edition website. We're betting this is the real deal, despite today's notoriety. If it's Activision's or Infinity Ward's idea of an April Fools' prank, then we're a bit disappointed by the lack of effort.[Via X3F]
Call of Duty 4 Variety Map pack screens
Over the next few weeks developers are attempting to keep as much attention on their games as possible prior to the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.Infinity Ward is no exception with an upcoming map pack for their Xbox Live hit, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The four map downloadable package includes Killhouse, Creek, Broadcast (pictured above) and Chinatown and will run gamers 800MS points when it launches on April 3 on Xbox Live Marketplace or via the Game of the Year edition set to hit retail soon.%Gallery-19542%
Guitar Hero: On Tour controller harmonious with DS Phats
Whenever a new DS peripheral is announced, there's a brief moment of terror for DS Phat stalwarts, as they consider the possibility of being forced into an upgrade out of desire to play Arkanoid (for example -- but that one actually does work with Phats). Thankfully, Activision and RedOctane have not forgotten that some people like big DSes and cannot lie. The Guitar Grip made for Guitar Hero: On Tour will work with both flavors of DS, according to RedOctane's preorder page.More interesting news related to, uh, your decision about whether or not to buy this: RedOctane is bundling Guitar Hero logo keychains with preordered copies of On Tour, and also selling a $60 bundle with a case made to hold the DS and Guitar Grip.[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero: On Tour grip works with DS Phat
We have to admit that the first time we saw the elegant, though not particularly guitar-like peripheral Activision had created for the DS' Guitar Hero: On Tour, we were concerned. It wasn't the missing orange button (we're fans of anything getting easier, whether it's fake guitar playing or cutting things), no, we were more worried that owners of the original DS (the DS Phat, on the streets) would be excluded from the fun by their system's girth. But now, Activision has dispelled our fears with the announcement that the Guitar Grip will work with both of the models. Now, Phatties, as for actually being able to see the notes in anything but perfect lighting, we're afraid you're on your own on that one. [Thanks, Kaelora]
